Former FSU Hockey Standout Kevin Swider Takes Front Office Position

Jul 13, 2010

The Knoxville (Tenn.)
Ice Bears have tabbed one of the most decorated players in
their franchise's history as the Director of Hockey
Operations as former Ferris State University men's ice
hockey standout Kevin
Swiderwill occupy the role in an announcement
made Monday (July 12) by Ice Bears President and General Manager
Mike Murray.

Swider, who played collegiate hockey at Ferris State from
1997-01, was listed as the Southern Professional Hockey
League's (SPHL) top player in The Hockey
News' 60th Anniversary issue which was published during the
2007-08 campaign.

Swider joins the Ice Bears' front office following a decorated
playing career, which features three SPHL Championships, four
regular season titles, and six consecutive scoring titles.

Kevin's first responsibility will be to finalize and execute the
Knoxville Ice Bears Youth Hockey School as the director of the
organization's youth hockey school. The hockey clinic will be
held from July 19-25 at Cool Sports in West Knoxville,
Tenn.

"We are pleased to have Kevin join our organization," said
Murray. "He brings a depth of knowledge, tremendous work ethic and
a dedication to winning that will strengthen our first class
staff."

Swider joins Murray and will assist in the recruitment of a new
head coach and once the new hired is settled, be a valuable
resource in recruiting a championship team.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to continue working
with the Knoxville Ice Bears in a whole new capacity," said
Swider. "We have had great success as an organization and I
have been honored to be a part of it. I look forward to this
new challenge."

The 32-year old Livonia, Mich. native is the longest
tenured Ice Bear by playing all or part of each season of the
team's existence since 2002. During his time with Knoxville,
Swider amassed 676 points with 264 goals to go with
412 assists in 374 regular season games. He
also produced 71 points on 20 goals and 51
assists in 51 playoff game appearances.

Swider has served as the Ice Bears' player- assistant coach for
the past three (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10) seasons and in his new
role will be entrusted with a vast range of duties.
His roles are and not limited to recruiting, managing salary cap,
handling travel, arranging player accommodations as well as
securing new corporate partnerships and season ticket
holders.

In his four seasons at Ferris State, Swider accumulated 124
career points on 56 goals and 68 assists in 148 games. He
presently ranks tied for 18th place among the program's all-time
points leaders while ranking 18th in goals and 22nd in
assists. Swider was a Central Collegiate Hockey Association
(CCHA) All-Rookie Team pick in 1997-98 and earned 2000-01 CCHA
All-Academic Honorable Mention Team accolades.

Swider is married to the former Angie
Desmarais, who was a member of the FSU women's volleyball
program from 1999-02. The couple has a daughter Avery,
who's 10 months old. Swider's brother-in-law,
Matt Desmarais, played football at Ferris State
from 2001-04.